Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr says it may take some time to resolve the case of an Australian lawyer prevented from leaving Mongolia.

Sarah Armstrong was stopped at Ulaanbaatar airport earlier in October because authorities wanted to question her about corruption allegations.

The 32-year-old is a mining lawyer for Rio Tinto subsidiary SouthGobi Resources. She has not been arrested or charged and still has her passport.

Ms Armstrong faced lengthy questioning at the weekend but Australian officials were prevented from being present.

Asked on Tuesday if he was concerned about that, Senator Carr said: “Not on the face of it.”

Mongolian authorities found it “unsatisfactory” that Consul-General David Lawson be present, he said.

“We hope for a satisfactory outcome but it may take some time,” he said.